Stories of Life
by Grey-eyed Birdie
Summary: AU, stories are told and people meet. Thalia takes her friends over to her family's beach house to celebrate her birthday but she has no idea this is going to be such a different family encounter.
1. Chapter 1 - The start of all my problems

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns the Percy Jackson series not me :( unfortunately!**

Ch 1 - The Start of all my Problems

"Morning, guys!" said Thalia, running towards the group who was standing around Annabeth's locker.

"Morning," said Annabeth.

"Guess what!" said the first. "I decided I'm going to celebrate my birthday!"

"Finally!" cried Silena. "I've been trying to convince you to do that the whole year!"

"I know," continued Thalia. "I really wasn't going to do anything but my dad said that my family was already planning on going to Olympus so, whatever, I just figured I'd take a couple of friends and celebrate it there!"

"What's Olympus?" asked Clarisse.

"It's the name of the family beach house."

"Your house has a name?" asked Chris.

"Yeah, it didn't but we used to call it that when we were kids so it just kind of stuck. Now everyone calls it that or just 'The House'."

"I just can't believe I'm finally gonna meet your family!" said Annabeth.

"They're nothing much."

"Nothing much?" asked Beckendorf. "From the way you talk about them they seem like the craziest people ever!"

"They are," said Thalia. Everyone laughed as the bell rang and they went into the home room.

Thalia was so excited her friends would finally meet her family. They knew Jason, her little brother, and her dad but her family was so much more than that. She was especially excited because she was gonna see her cousins Percy and Nico again. It had been two years since the last time they saw each other and she knew for a fact that they'd grow a lot since then. Percy was turning seventeen this year, same as her, and Nico fifteen, she was anxious to know what kinds of trouble they'd gotten themselves into.

They were a complicated family. That you can be sure of.

Thalia was a punk. She wore "Death to Barbie" shirts and ripped up black jeans. She was a complicated child, didn't have a lot of patience and a very small tolerance to Bullsh*t. She got herself into trouble with her dad, her mom and her school. Just the teenager.

Nico was an EMO. He was strange in the oddest ways and hardly ever laughed. His older sister and mother had died when he was twelve and he suddenly had to grow up to his father's expectations which were really high. He did have another sister, Hazel, but she shared the same features and wasn't one to talk a lot.

Percy was a trouble maker. He had been kicked out of loads of schools for getting into all kinds of trouble. No one could control that boy, except, sometimes, his mother, who was the sweetest person in the world. He was the only one who frequently visited The House because his father loved to be next to the sea, same as Percy.

The rest of the family was just as complicated and huge. Thalia had two cousins, Connor and Travis, who were quite the robbers and pranksters; then other three, Will, Lee and Michael, who were music freaks and skater dudes; another two, Castor and Pollux, who were a little on the crazy side; and, lastly her cousin Jake, who was one with the engine, the guy could fix anything if it didn't have a beating heart. And many others, but these were the ones Thalia cared about the most.

That was pretty much Thalia's family. Oh! And they all had problems like ADHD or dyslexia.

Great. This would be the best family reunion.

Thalia's birthday was in December, winter. Which meant it would be cold and she had no idea why her whole family would be going to her beach house in winter just for her birthday but whatever, she was just happy she'd see them. They hadn't had a family reunion in a long time. Thalia loved family reunions because they were usually pretty crazy and they were the family she had, as her mom had died years before and she didn't really have any contact with that part of her life. Her dad's family though, she loved those crazy psychos! This was gonna be epic.

Friday came and Thalia's friends came to her house all packed and ready to go.

There was Clarisse, the tall brunet who could take anyone down, her boyfriend, Chris, total opposite cute guy, Annabeth, Thalia's super smart best friend, Annabeth's half brother Malcolm, Silena, the most beautiful girl of all time, Silena's younger sister Piper and Silena's boyfriend Beckendorf (well, Charles Beckendorf actually but no one called him Charles, only Silena who called him Charlie). Jason had gone before with his friend Leo, who was the most hyper kid ever.

There would certainly be a lot of people in this trip.

"When are we leaving?" asked Piper.

"Now!" called Thalia's father coming out of the house and placing the last bag in the trunk of the minivan they'd rented to take everyone.

Three hours later all the young ones where sleeping but Thalia and Annabeth who were discussing Thalia's family for the millionth time.

"I'm just so excited to see Percy and Nico again!" Thalia exclaimed.

"You're really close aren't you? You always talk about them and the thing you guys do."

"Yeah we are pretty close. Our fathers are brothers so we are the only real first cousins, I mean everyone considers everyone cousins, our family is really united, at least the young part, but my other cousins are actually a bit distant in the family tree and Jason and Hazel they are different. Hazel is kind of quiet and Jason, well, you know him, he's too formal. Percy and Nico are not. They are just like me!" she thought a bit about that. "Actually, no. they are completely different much too more rebellious!"

The blonde laughed at that. "As if you weren't rebellious, Thalia!"

"Not like them!" Thalia cried, but then repeated in a lower voice when she noticed the others sleeping. "Not like them. They are completely crazy! I told you Percy has been kicked out of, like, ten schools and Nico! Can't even start with that kid, he's kind of out of time you know? And he's kind of deadly too."

"Deadly?"

"Yeah! He's like crazy about death, we thought it was just about his sister but I think it's more than that. Whenever we watch movies we always go to horror ones. Then we joke around and make fun of them 'cause none of us get really scared with those movies."

"And are they really the way you describe them? Physically, I mean."

"Yeah, I guess. Percy's into swimming and stuff so he's pretty strong and Nico likes to run and stuff so I guess he's not that bad either. Both of them also fight, and stuff, like fencing and Karate or whatever. I haven't seen them in a long time though, we chat on the internet and send pictures to each other but it's not the same thing. Last time I saw them Percy and I were fifteen and Nico was thirteen, now Nico is fifteen and Percy is seventeen! I'm pretty sure they've changed in the past two years!"

"I can't believe I haven't met them yet!" said Annabeth, who was really curious to meet the people Thalia talked about so much. "We've known each other for years and I've only met your brother and father!"

"I know! That's crazy! I would have asked you to come last year but there was the whole thing with Percy being kidnapped and then Percy's mom got sick and they couldn't come so Nico's dad said there was no point if the whole family wasn't there and the year before there was this horrid rain storm so the trip was canceled. This year the same thing happened so we couldn't go in the summer. I was surprised when everyone agreed to come now!"

"They wanted to see you Thalia," said her dad from behind the wheel; the girls almost banged their heads on the ceiling when they realized the man was listening. "Everyone is curious to know how you guys are doing. Your uncle didn't really want to come but old Barnacle Beard managed to convince him of it."

"Who's Barnacle Beard?" whispered Annabeth.

"Percy's dad. They call him that because he loves the sea. It's kind of weird that they keep to their names. You know what I told you that my grandfather was a bit on the crazy side and named his sons after the Olympian gods?" Thalia answered in the same tone.

"Yeah."

"Well Uncle Hades is pretty creepy, Uncle Poseidon is a very seaside guy and dad, well he's dad. That's basically why we called The House Olympus; we pretended we were back in Greece and that our parents really were the Olympian gods. It gets even weirder when you notice that we kids also kind of follow that thought, we are just like our parents. We used to joke that Nico, Hazel and Bianca symbolized the various aspects of their dad: death, precious gems and the sane part of Hades, the one that actually thinks and isn't obsessed with death. Percy is Percy; I don't even need to explain. Jason is very, how can I put it, prince? And me, well I'm definitely not a princess but I was always the one in the lead so, whatever. Our nicknames also go with that idea. Percy is Kelp Head, Nico is Death Boy."

"What's yours then?"

"Pinecone Face," the girl said reluctantly.

Annabeth held her urge to laugh; she didn't want her friend's feelings. "Why?" she asked.

"It's a complicated story," said Thalia. "when we were little there was this time where Percy, Nico and I decided to have a race to see who reached the gates of The House first so we ran all the way from the beginning of the road to the start of the field. I was in front so I turned back to laugh at them and accidentally ran straight into this pine tree that stands just to the left of the gate. I was unconscious for three days and when I woke up in the hospital I found that they had taken a bunch of pictures of me and suddenly I became Thalia "Pinecone Face" Grace."

"Was the tree that small that you didn't notice it?"

"No. It's quite huge. Actually, it's that one over there!" Thalia answered pointing out the window at the golden gates up ahead and the enormous Pine tree on the left.

"We're here!" called Thalia's dad waking everyone up.

"Wow!" said Silena as Thalia's dad pressed a button on the remote and the gates opened automatically to reveal a small road with fields on both sides, leading up to a gigantic mansion in the end. The beach couldn't be seen from where they were but the smell and noise where unmistakable. Before this, they had only seen the road and forest on both sides, now they found themselves looking at a wonderful view of the country side and the magnificent "house" where they'd be staying for the next two weeks. "It's amazing!"

Thalia's dad drove the car right up to the garage, at the left side of the house and the kids, sorry, young adults, got their bags and directed themselves to the front of the house. Some shouting could be heard and a few other cars could be seen but no one could be noticed in their field of vision. Only green and The House.

"This is it!" said Thalia, pushing the door open and ushering everyone inside. The hall was enormous. There were stairs right to the left, leading up to the other floors and a corridor leading into the mansion with rooms on every side. There was a huge mirror and a beautiful ornamental table at the right with a funny looking vase on top.

"That wasn't there before," noticed Thalia.

"Sally bought it," said her dad coming in. "No one had the courage to tell her it's horrible. So, children, this is The House. Thalia will show you around and point out the rooms available I have to go get my things sorted and look for my dear brothers." He said the last part as if he didn't really mean it and left up the stairs. The "children" could see him walk onto the first floor as the stairs were open and there was only a rail linking the stairs to the corridor wall. Looking up you could see every floor of The House.

"It's huge," was the only thing Malcolm thought to say.

"Yeah," sighed Thalia. "Good to be back. Now we only have to find the rest of the family."

Once she said it there was a banging sound coming from deep in the corridor ahead and two boys came crashing out of a room. The first everyone recognized as Thalia's brother, Jason, a blonde haired tall boy who had nothing to do with his black haired punk of a sister. The first one, running ahead was an EMO looking kid with tangled, messy black hair, wearing black jeans, a grey shirt with a pirate flag design, black combat boots and a black leather jacket. The boy passed straight by them, screamed "hey there" and ran up the stairs onto the first floor. He stopped and leaned on the railing looking down at the people in the hall, a skull ring on his finger.

"Nico!" screamed Jason as he reached the group and look up at the laughing face of his cousin. "Give it back!"

**A.N.: Thanks to my sweet Erberus-Chan for being my beta reader! I'll try updating this story every month but I take some time to consider the story ready to publish so... anyway ready or not I'll be publishing it every month! As my sweetie friend would say: I'll be getting my lazy bum off the couch and get to writing!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Meeting the Family

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns the PJO and HoO stories not me, :( **

Ch 2 - Meeting the Family

_"Nico!" screamed Jason as he reached the group and look up at the laughing face of his cousin. "Give it back!"_

"No freaking way, little Jay!" sang Nico.

_This is Nico?_ Thought Annabeth.

_He's grown!_ Thought Thalia.

_I hate this kid!_ Thought Jason.

"I'm sixteen, you're fifteen! I'm older than you!" Jason yelled.

"Do know, don't care! Now," he looked at a piece of paper on his hand, "where were we? Oh, right, 'I love you so much that I can't stand being away from you anymore!' –"

"Shut up!" Jason cut him off trying to sprint up the stairs but Thalia got in front of him and held him back.

"What's that?" she asked, fighting her brother's attempts to free himself.

"A letter from one Drew Tanaka," said Nico smiling.

"Drew? The stalker?" Thalia asked her brother.

"Yeah," said Jason finally giving in to his sister and relaxing, "she's been after me all year! I can't stand it anymore! That's the fifth letter she sends me this month!"

Nico slowly came down the stairs and handed Jason back his letter, the other ripped it out of his hand and stuffed it back in his pocket. The others stared at the scene marveled. Their families was boring, Thalia's family was hilarious. The first minutes they'd been there and they were already greeted with this kind of commotion.

"Remind me again why you don't go to an all-boys boarding school?" Nico asked him.

"That was the school mom and dad went to, he wants me to study there."

"What about Thalia?"

"I was kicked out," she answered grinning as if that was the greatest thing. The three of them started laughing when Nico finally noticed the other people watching.

"Who are them?" he asked coming over.

"Oh! These are my friends! Nico meet Annabeth, her brother Malcolm, Silena, her sister Piper, her boyfriend Beckendorf, Clarisse and her boyfriend Chris," he nodded to each one as the names were said and Thalia pointed them out. "Guys, meet my cousin Nico!"

"Beckendorf?" asked Nico. "What's your first name?"

"Charles, but I prefer Beckendorf."

"Except for when I talk to you, right Charlie?" Silena asked, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Charlie?" asked Nico as everyone laughed.

"That's how I call him!" Silena smiled and Beckendorf blushed.

"But that's just you," he said.

"I prefer Beckendorf too," said Nico and the other smiled. "So, Annabeth? Wow! Finally! Couldn't get Thalia to shut up about you!" he added turning to the blonde girl.

"Same here!" she said taking a good look at the boy. He was tall and really pale. His eyes were black as night, same as his hair. Annabeth could notice the hurt hidden behind them, the one he was trying to hide behind that bright white smile.

"So," said Thalia and Nico turned back to face her, "has everyone arrived yet? Is Percy here?"

"No, we're missing out on Jake and what do you think? He was obviously the first one to arrive," said Nico.

"And obviously the first one to disappear!" finished Jason.

"Disappear? To where?" Thalia seemed really disappointed her cousin was not there to greet her.

"You're really asking that? Guess, you have one chance," said Nico.

"He went to the beach?" she guessed.

"Yep," answered the other.

"In the town?" she asked.

"Obviously," he answered. "You'll be lucky if he comes back today!"

"Seriously? Two years he hasn't seen me and he disappears right when I arrive? You should have kept him here!" she said smacking both boys upside the head.

"Ouch! That hurt! Believe me, I tried!" said Nico. "But its Percy we're talking about, he doesn't listen to anyone! He did say he'd be back tonight but I doubt that! Last time he went out with Dakota he came back two days later with a horrid hangover and lipstick and wine all over his shirt!"

"Well," said Jason rubbing his head, "we can hope he doesn't drink that much tonight."

"Is he that into alcohol?" asked Annabeth, the more she listened, the more she thought this kid really wasn't all she had been thinking.

"No!" Nico answered. "He just has this friend who is and who convinces him to drink. Normally he won't even touch alcohol or only drink a cup, but whenever he goes out with Dakota he comes back completely drunk, remembering nothing and with about three girls thinking he's their boyfriend." He said it as if it was completely normal. "Now enough with Percy! Come on Thalia everyone is at the barbecue and dyeing to see you!" he took her hand and began to pull her along the corridor.

"Yeah," said Jason following them. "Travis even brought his new girlfriend, something I think is suicide."

Everyone followed the three along the corridor, past loads of doors and arches leading to rooms and lounges and (what they called) a small kitchen.

At the end there was another hall just like the one in the front, although without the funny looking vase, and more stairs heading up to the other floors. They headed out the back door onto a porch over looking an enormous swimming pool with loads of picnic tables around and stretcher chairs. There was a path to the left made of stones leading down to the beach with a volley ball court at the left side and more fields to the right, the fields extended a long way, right up to the forest. They could see a stable house and some horses in the distance, also there was a huge dog bouncing around and trying to eat some of the meat being served from the barbecue.

There were loads of people, all of them laughing. No one was actually in the pool as it was cold but the whole family was there, chilling around it and eating the meat one of Thalia's cousins (or uncles?) was cooking.

"Thalia!" a brown haired boy wearing a Beatles shirt and baggy trousers yelled and ran up to her. Suddenly everyone was there hugging her and being introduced to her friends. But the only one Thalia really wanted to see at that moment was Percy.

When Thalia introduced Annabeth to the twins they decided to play the who's who? game.

"Annabeth, these are my cousins Travis and Connor," Thalia said, pointing to each of the sandy haired, elfish-looking boys.

"Thalia, you're confusing us again!" said the tallest. "_I'm_ Connor, _he's _Travis!"

"No he's not!" said a voice from behind them. A short, brown haired girl walked over to them. She had kind brown eyes and a splash of freckles on her cheeks. "_You_ are Travis!"

"How do you know?" Annabeth asked.

"My boyfriend is taller," the girl said, pecking the tallest's cheek. Then she turned to the girls. "I'm Katie by the way, Katie Gardener."

And that's when Travis's life got a whole lot harder, as everyone felt compelled to mock him, as payback for all his pranks.

After meeting and greeting everyone they went back to the house to pick out the rooms. Only then did they realize just how big The House was.

"Most of our rooms are on the top floors," said Thalia as they reached the second.

"Why are we so high?" asked Chris.

"Those are the rooms with the best views and the others are already full," she answered. "We here have kind of a silent agreement as to where we sleep so we always leave our stuff in the same rooms. Some are even decorated. We're all spread around so you'll have to stay in different floors. Sorry, but my cousins will never switch rooms. Piper you're here, you'll have a room to yourself. Third one on the right, next to Hazel's and across from Jason and Leo"

"Who's Leo?" Piper asked.

"Jason's friend, he was down stairs."

Everyone waited as Piper went to leave her things in her room and come back.

On the third floor Silena, Beckendorf and Malcolm were dropped off and then returned to follow the others.

They arrived on the fourth floor and Annabeth started to climb the last set of stairs.

"No, no, no!" called Thalia, pulling her back. "That's the attic, no one goes there."

"Why not?" asked the other.

"Percy's room."

"He's got a whole floor to himself?" Silena asked.

"No, that floor is small and only has one room, his." said Thalia looking up the stairs. "He prefers to be high because that's the best place to see the beach from here so whenever he's grounded he can still watch the waves. Also, it's so high up no one ever bothers to go check on him, so he can do anything he likes."

"Why would he come here if he's grounded?" asked Piper.

"He practically lives here. He, his mom and dad are the ones who come here the most, practically every weekend. So even when he's grounded he comes, although when that happens he isn't allowed to leave the house. Something that I don't honestly think he minds, don't really know what he does up there though," she said, though Annabeth thought she heard a slight lie. "Last time I went in his room was four years ago when he got sick during the trip. Now come on, your rooms are this way. Annabeth you're sharing with me."

Everyone followed her down the corridor except Annabeth, who lingered a bit more fighting her desire to run up the stairs and check out the last room of the house.

They had a wonderful day. Thalia's family was great and greeted her friends with laughter and kindness, though one of her cousins (Connor) tried to steal Clarisse's wallet, only to be knocked down by the bulky girl.

They ate barbecue until no one could put more food in their mouths. Leo had eaten a very large quantity of meat and complained his jeans were too tight. He was a very funny person; he had a Latin-American complexion and a smile that never left his face. He seemed to have a great relationship with Travis and Connor, seeing as they were all pranksters.

The dog, which was called Mrs. O'Leary, turned out to be Percy's and the cutest thing ever once you got over the fact of how huge it was. There was a huge commotion when Jake arrived and a long conversation about Percy when he learned that the boy had disappeared to the town. Jake was pretty tall, just like most of his family. He was also well built and had dark brown hair. His hands were really rough and calloused for working with machines. He got along pretty well with Silena's boyfriend, Beckendorf, as he was also fascinated by things without a beating heart.

After eating they played a game of volley and raced each other across the field until it started to get dark and was really too cold to stay outside.

The adults went to sleep as they were all so tired and the kids went to the largest room of the ground floor. It was a lounge with comfy arm chairs, a big fireplace, and a beautiful coffee table in the centre. The room was dark, dark walls, dark floor, a reddish-brown carpet and dark yellow lighting. There weren't many windows and the ones that were there were found closed most of the time.

The young people played card games in the dark lighting until the last adult went to bed. "Tell Percy he's grounded when he arrives," said Sally, Percy's mother, as she went up the stairs.

"Okay!" called Nico, closing the lounge's door behind him. "He's so screwed!"

"Definitely," Said the brown haired boy (Will). "He is probably gonna arrive really drunk and…"

"What?" asked his brother Michael, who looked very similar to him with brown hair and kind features.

"Connor, get your camera."

"Why?"

"Don't you want payback for him not being here to greet you? He comes here all the time and he chooses today to go out with his friends?"

"But what does my camera have to do with that?"

"Dude," said Lee, understanding where the conversation was heading. He was the youngest of Will's brothers and was a smaller replica of the olders. "He's gonna arrive really drunk, probably saying stuff he doesn't want to. That's perfect blackmail!"

Connor immediately ran out of the room and came back minutes later with his video camera.

"Now all we have to do is wait," said Thalia smirking at the idea of what she could get Percy to say on video.

"Yeah but let's do something while we do that because he might take a really long time to arrive," said Jason.

They decided to play truth or dare. They sat around the table and spun an empty bottle. The bottom pointed to the person who asked, the lid to the person who answered. One by one, however, they started to fall asleep. They laid down on the floor, curled up on the chairs or on a pile of cushions.

One a.m.

Two a.m.

Three a.m.

Four, five…

The time passed until only Thalia, Nico, Annabeth, Clarisse, Travis and Leo were playing, the others were sound asleep.

"Clarisse," Nico said. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to-" there was a loud noise outside.

"Was that a car?" asked Annabeth.

There was some shouting outside and the sound of someone driving away. Then came the sound of footsteps up the front porch and the sound of someone dropping their keys. The lounge was the second room to the right of the hall but the six could still here someone swearing outside.

"Guys!" Nico called to the sleeping people. He shook them awake as he stood.

"What?" Jason asked sleepily as he sat up, his blonde hair, so different from his sister's, plastered to the right of his face.

"Percy's here," Nico said from the door. Everyone woke each other, crept out of the room and hid in the shadows just as the front door opened.

**AN: So this is chapter two! I'm so excited to be publishing this, but I'll probably read it in two minutes and find loads of mistakes I hadn't noticed. Thanks to Erberus-Chan and .skier for being my first reviewers! Also, thank you to the people who have read, favourited or followed. Oh, and I know Travis and Connor aren't twins but I wanted them to be. I hope I don't desapoint and I hope you're as excited as I am for the next chapter! **

**P.S.: sorry for the cliffhanger! I just needed that there and well... most chapters will end with something like that so that you don't stop reading.**

**P.P.S: also apologize for any cursing that might come along at some point. I just feel like some are needed sometimes**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Cousin

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO or HoO series, too bad... they all belong to the wonderful Rick Riordan**

**A.N.: Okay, sorry for the delay! I'm really, really sorry I took so long to upload this chapter but I do have an excuse! Yep, it was all because of House of Hades. Orriginally I had planned to upload this before the book was released but I didn't have time and then I had a really bad case of writer's block and after that my copy arrived together with Guys Read Other Worlds (PJ and the Singer of Apollo) so I got into reading that. Then I went back to reading Looking for Alaska (which I am almost finishing, yay!). So all in all I didn't have much time to focus on this story. Good news: now I do! Yay!**

**So a couple of points I have to say before getting to the chapter (sorry, I hate long ANs too but I'll try to make it quick). First of all I started this story and this chapter before HoH was out so I'm sorry if there are things which don't match, though this is an AU so it doesn't really matter. Also, there are a couple of ooc characters and I apollogize for that. And last, i think, the story will now probably have a few swear words and I apollogize if any of you don't like that but, well, this is how I work and I think it makes it more believable. **

**So, yeah, this is chapter three! Oh, one more thing, the story will now be more of Annabeth's POV as I felt it would flow better than Thalia's though it will probably continue to be told in third person.**

Ch 3 – The Cousin

"Percy's here" Nico said from the door. Everyone woke each other, crept out of the room and hid in the shadows just as the front door opened.

Annabeth ended at the back of the group but her curiosity made her stand on tip toes, she wanted to see who this guy was.

A tall figure came stumbling into the house. "Fucking door," it mumbled.

"I'm gonna scare him," Thalia whispered. The figure, who had dropped the keys again, didn't even notice as it tried to find the key chain and close the door. "Connor is that thing on?"

"Yeah."

"Great," she walked a bit further.

The tall figure managed to clumsily get his keys and close the door. As he was turning around Thalia yelled "PERSEUS JACKSON!"

"Ah!" he cried as he banged his head on the door. "Mom, swear to drunk I'm not god!"

Everyone started laughing. "I'm not your mom, Percy, but if you continue shouting she'll probably wake up and be here in a second and yes, I know you're not god, you're too stupid to be!" said Thalia.

"Thalia?" asked the boy, his voice was hoarse, deep and altered by alcohol.

"Come give me a hug, you dolt!"

He stepped forward and tripped over his feet smashing into Thalia who hugged him to keep him steady. "Whoa, Kelp Head, how much _did_ you have to drink exactly?" she asked as Nico helped her carry Percy back to the lounge.

Once there, they dumped him onto the couch and everyone gathered around.

"I dunno," he said.

"What do you mean? Do you even know _what_ you drank?" Thalia asked.

"Coca-Cola," he said, then started laughing. "Funny. Coca-Cola," he repeated with a squeaky voice.

"Yeah, right," said Nico smiling at his, not so conscious, cousin. "Do you really think we believe you only drank Coke?"

"No, really. It was Coke but then it turned to wine and then it started to loose color 'till it was transparent," he mumbled.

"So you drank Vodka," Pollux, one of the cousins, who was an expert in alcoholic drinks, concluded. He was very much like his cousins, tall and slender, though he had darker hair. Not black like Thalia's but much darker than Will's.

Annabeth studied the boy on the couch. Even in the dim light she could see his face. He was gorgeous, perfect jaw line, lips, nose, everything. She couldn't see his eyes because he hardly opened them. Thalia had said he was muscular but she couldn't figure it out as he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a jacket.

"You're a hopeless case, you know that? Plus your mom says you're grounded," informed Thalia.

"Grounded? Why grounded?" he whined and pouted.

"Because, stupid, you said you'd come back for lunch, and it's five in the morning!" Castor said. He looked a lot like his younger brother, tall and dark haired, though he was tanner and slightly more handsome.

"Then I'm early. Can someone take me to bed?" Percy asked putting his arms up like a child.

"No way!" cried Travis getting in front of Thalia. "First you're telling us where you've been"

"Out."

"Where?" asked Lee.

"Bar," he giggled.

"He giggles like a girl!" giggled Piper.

"He giggles like you!" said Jason smiling at her, making her go red.

"With who?" continued Travis.

"Girls."

"What about Dakota?" asked Nico.

"Dunno, only saw him when he was giving me stuff to drink, then he disappeared with some chick and I only saw him now, I think… actually, I'm not very sure of who drove me here."

He had his brows all crunched together, making him look very cute in Annabeth's opinion.

"Who was the girl you were with?" asked Connor, trying to get him to talk more.

"Dunno. She wasn't that hot though, the other one was hotter but still not that hot. Just kind of sexy," he answered stumbling over his words. "I think there was someone else but I'm really not sure…"

"Who do you think is hot then?" Travis asked.

"Dunno, Rachel is kind of good looking, Gwen is pretty, but I think she has a boyfriend, then there are a couple of girls from that town that are great. Jason's friend, that Reyna girl, really isn't bad at all and that girl there is not bad either from what I can see," he said pointing to Annabeth, making the girl's face look like a tomato. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"What, Annabeth? Definitely no!" Thalia answered.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" cried the other burning red with anger and embarrassment.

"Nothing. Why do ask, Percy?"

"Dunno, you asked me who I thought was hot and I answered, now leave me alone!" complained the boy on the couch.

"No! We got one more question," said Travis.

"Yeah, what do you do when you lock yourself in your room?" asked Connor. "Why can't we go up there?"

"Well I- hey are you guys trying to tick me? I'm not that drunk you know!" he said but then fell face forward on the floor as he tried to get up.

"And that everybody, is the brilliant Percy Jackson," laughed Nico. "Come on Thalia lets take him upstairs."

"Fine," she muttered, "now that it was starting to get good!"

Thalia and Nico half dragged half carried him up the stairs while everyone collected their things to go to sleep. They had a pretty hard time as Percy was very tall and was pretty heavy.

"You should be honored, Annabeth. It's not every girl Percy asks to be his girlfriend!" joked Travis.

"He didn't ask that!" she said as she barged up the stairs. _Who does this guy think he is?_

In the morning all the adults woke up to find the kids still sound asleep. They left to go to the town and Sally left a note on the kitchen for when they woke up.

Kids,

There's food on the fridge and in the cupboards. Take what you want, just don't make a mess.

Percy, don't leave this house. You're grounded and we will have a very long talk when we get back about your behavior.

Love, Sally.

"Why does she insist on calling us kids?" mumbled Castor as he put the note back on the balcony. "I told her, its young adults!"

"She'll never get that," said his brother. "Better just drop it."

"You're right," said Thalia. "Now what do you want to eat?"

"The usual," said Jake.

"Great, everything then!" she took out every single breakfast-related thing from the fridge and dumped them on the table. Everyone reached out and grabbed what they wanted. Even Thalia's friends had to be quick because the food was gone in five seconds.

The time on the kitchen clock read eleven, however it had only been five hours since the first one of them had actually fallen asleep (and that had been the drunken one).

At midday they were still not even close to finishing.

"Connor, pass the jam," cried Travis from the other side of the table.

"It's gone!" yelled his brother.

"Will, pass the jam!"

"This one's over too," said the cousin.

"Leo!"

"This one is finished!" Jason's friend answered.

"No its not!"

"It is now!" and he scraped the last bit of jam.

"Here sweetie," said Katie, handing her boyfriend a pot of jam that wasn't finished yet.

"Thanks," he said pecking her lips.

"How did you guys get together?" asked Silena, she was into those romance things.

"There's no way you're getting that story out of me!" laughed Travis, but then he glanced at his girlfriend scared that she might start talking. She actually would have, if the most wonderful distraction hadn't decided to come into the kitchen.

When this happened no one noticed a silent conversation going on between four girls:

_**Silena: wow!**_

_**Clarisse: I underestimated, he **_**is**_** kind of good looking.**_

_**Silena: kind of? He's a god!**_

_**Thalia: you have a boyfriend!**_

_**Silena: Thalia, why didn't you say he was that hot?**_

_**Thalia: I did! And you saw him last night!**_

_**Annabeth: last night there wasn't a lot to see and no, you didn't, you said he was pretty.**_

_**Silena: only if it's pretty damn gorgeous!**_

_**Thalia: I did tell you he was a swimmer.**_

_**Clarisse: a really strong swimmer.**_

_**Annabeth: a bloody gorgeous really strong swimmer.**_

_**Silena: absolutely, a bloody gorgeous really strong and perfectly hot swimmer.**_

How they understood each other with only looks, well, they are girls.

This conversation was obviously about the boy who had just come in.

Annabeth hadn't gotten a good look at him last night but now she could look all she wanted and yes, he definitely was quite hot.

The boy was wearing sweat pants, sneakers and a zipped down hoody, no shirt, exposing his well-marked chest and six pack. He definitely had the body of a swimmer and that of a surfer, combined. He was gorgeous. Even though he looked exhausted, he was breath taking. He was tanned and tall; you could see the involuntary jaw drops from all the girls. He was strong but not exaggerated, just perfect. They could see all his muscles working as he walked over to the table and dropped himself on the chair across from Thalia's blonde friend. His black hair falling all over his face, in a tangled mess.

"Morning," he groaned as he put his forehead on the table, his arms dangling lifeless at his sides.

"Good morning there sleeping beauty!" laughed Nico. "Sleep well?"

"Shut the fuck up," the other answered.

His family laughed; something that brought the girls out of their shock. The only girls that hadn't fixed astonished eyes on Percy were his only two girl cousins, Thalia who was laughing with everyone else and Hazel who smiled at the scene, even though she was the youngest, she was the most mature of the lot.

"Percy! It's rude to swear!" Nico teased him.

"I don't fucking care."

"Wow! Someone needs their mouth cleaned!" joked Will.

Percy only groaned.

"Get your head off the table, Percy! It's not hygienic!" said Thalia reaching out and pushing his head up.

"Whatever, can you _please_ get me a nice, strong cup of… hot chocolate?" he begged as he massaged his neck.

"Wow! You're saying please! Then yes, I most certainly will attend to your wish!" she said, laughed and kissed his cheek. He shrugged her off and finally fully opened his eyes.

Annabeth gasped quietly when he did so because he looked straight at her. No one noticed that, fortunately, not even when he looked away and she continued to stare. She lost herself. All her self control, the one she'd trained for years trying to control her anger at her father and step mother, trying to control her fury at her mother for leaving her, the anger that only subsided once she met her half brother, Malcolm. She had learned to control her feelings and analyze people but now, looking at this boy, she lost it.

She was staring open mouthed at the god sitting in front of her and she lost all thoughts in his eyes. She swam deep in those green waters. She stared and she couldn't rip her eyes off him, the most beautiful sea green she'd ever seen.

"Here you go!" cried Thalia putting the cup in front of her cousin and waking Annabeth from her daze. She immediately turned bright red, something very unlike her, and obviously Thalia noticed. "Why are you red, Annie?"

Everyone immediately turned to look at her and she turned even redder. What was going on with her?

"Well of course she's nervous!" mocked Travis. "Percy practically asked her hand in marriage yesterday!"

"I did what?!" asked Percy wide eyed and now fully awake. But then he squeezed his eyes shut and put his head on his hands. "Bloody hangover! Go on, throw the bomb, who did I screw over?"

Everyone pointed at Annabeth who glared daggers at each one of them.

"Oh great and you are…?" he asked looking back at her.

"My best friend," said Thalia smiling broadly at the situation. "Annabeth 'know it all' Chase!"

"Your best- oh perfect! Did we… uh… you know?" he looked at Annabeth with a strangled look in his beautiful eyes.

"No!" she yelled burning bright red.

"Oh, thank god!" he sighed putting his head back in his hands. She didn't know how to take that.

Everyone laughed their heads off except the girl, who was infuriated at the situation, Percy, who looked slightly relieved but still had his hands on his face because of the noise, and Malcolm, who looked like he couldn't decide as to what were his feelings towards the situation.

"Don't believe her Percy," said Leo. "She can be lying from all we know"

"Leo!" cried Annabeth.

"And who are you?" asked Percy peering from between his fingers.

"My best friend," said Percy's blonde cousin.

"You've met me before!" cried Leo.

"Have I? Sorry then, I don't remember."

"No prob! I'm Leo, the most awesome person you'll ever meet!"

"Pleasure," muttered Percy.

"Yeah, I know," joked the kid.

Percy put his hands down and looked at him amused. "Whatever dude, I'll take her word for it."

"Ooh!" mocked Connor. "Come on guys, we're all finished, let's leave the love birds alone," then they all left, leaving Percy with his head on his hands again and a completely shocked Annabeth. She took about five seconds to recover and almost fell off her chair when she desperately stood up.

"Hey, Annabeth, wait!" Percy got up in surprising speed and grabbed her arm ruining her attempt to leave. She felt the muscles of his hand and knew she'd never be able to escape his grip. He was warm, hot, as if he had a fever, and her skin tingled where he touched.

She turned and accidentally looked straight into his eyes. At that moment she knew that she was most utterly and completely fucked.

**AN: Hope you liked it! Please review! Thanks for the reviews of chapter 2: . .27 , Jewelia9 , Jedi1 and anonymous guest! I really enjoy reviews and read them carefully, also, any suggestions are welcome, please PM me and I'll be very thankful! I will post the next one soon, I hope, because I'm very excited with this! I'm even getting my friends to help me write and I have a couple of chapters drafted out already! See you guys soon!**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Boy and The Beach

**Disclaimer: So… yeah… I don't own the PJO or HoO series, but I would like to start a petition to take the characters away from Rick so he can't hurt them anymore!**

**AN.: So this is chapter four! I noticed some people are commenting that this is a Percabeth fic, well it is but I will try to add many more things. It really is more centered in Percabeth but I'll try to add other parings and many events will happen not really connected to the pair.**

Ch 4 – The Boy and the Beach

"_Hey, Annabeth, wait!" Percy got up in surprising speed and grabbed her arm ruining her attempt to leave. She felt the muscles of his hand and knew she'd never be able to escape his grip. He was warm, hot, as if he had a fever, and her skin tingled where he touched._

_She turned and accidentally looked straight into his eyes. At that moment she knew that she was most utterly and completely fucked._

He let her go after making sure she wouldn't leave by leaning on the door, and started talking in that amazingly sexy voice of his. "I'm sorry if I did anything that made you feel embarrassed or something. Normally I'm very cool when I'm sober but, as you might have noticed, I don't have a, let's say, very high tolerance to alcohol. I'm really sorry but I don't remember anything so if I did anything, anything at all, I am really, really sorry about it. I didn't mean to ask your hand in marriage or-"

"You didn't," Annabeth cut in, "you asked if I had a boyfriend and said I was hot." _**Why did I say that?**_ She thought. _**Stupid, stupid, stupid!**_

"Oh, okay," he said smiling. "Well if that made you uncomfortable I am truly sorry but, if I might add, my drunken self was right." That made her blush. "Though, I really hope we can be friends, is that okay or are you too traumatized?"

"No," she said. _**Very intelligent Annabeth.**_

"No as in yes we can be friends? Or no as in 'I'm too traumatized'?" he asked smiling.

"No as in yes," she answered.

"Yes, we can be friends, right? Or you're too traumatized?" he asked, the smile widening.

"Yes! Wait. Are you trying to confuse me?" she asked scandalized.

"Is it working?" he laughed.

"Yes, I mean no!"

"Oh, no," he said getting closer to her. "I heard it. I make you confused."

She was paralyzed. He was inching closer and closer with that silly grin and she couldn't think of anything to say so she came up with something completely weird and totally unlike her: "You smell funny".

He stopped and looked at her grinning confused. "What?"

"I mean, I think you smell weird. I've never smelled something like that before," _**What!?**_

"Okay," he said grinning, "well it's probably just the smell of the beach. I spend so much time there that people say I have its natural perfume."

"Oh, so that's why."

"Why what?" he asked.

"Why I thought it was weird. I've never been to the beach," she answered.

The look on the boy's face was of absolute horror. "What are you talking about? You've never seen the ocean? The sand? The- the water?"

"Not from up close."

"Well that's gonna change right now," he grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the kitchen, onto the corridor and out the back door. She could see the others having some sort of picnic/tag game out on the fields but Percy turned left, onto the stone path.

"Follow me!" he yelled as he ran ahead. The only thing she could do was oblige. She soon caught up and they raced each other along the path. She couldn't see ahead but she could sense they were getting closer to the beach. The noise of the waves grew louder and that weird, salty smell grew stronger. She had seen the beach from Thalia's bedroom window so she knew the house was on a cliff. She knew this path led to stone steps which finished down on the sand and she knew that after that there was a huge amount of water.

But when she got to the steps and looked down she saw wonders. She felt the breeze and smelled the salt. She looked into those waters and felt a wonderful feeling of freedom.

"Come on!" Percy said again. She walked down to where he was waiting for her.

"Leave your shoes here," he said pointing to where his sneakers were sitting on a flat rock. She took off hers and put them next to his, then looked down to see that they were only a few steps from the sand. She looked down at her toe nails and noticed the red nail polish coming off.

"Nice," said Percy and she looked up to see he had taken his hoody off, despite the cold. This was actually the hottest day yet this winter but still, she was wearing Capri pants and a jacket. He was now only wearing his sweat pants.

"What?" she realized she was staring.

"Your nails." _**Oh great**_, she thought, _**of course he had to notice**_. "Just didn't picture you as the red kind of girl."

"What did you picture me as?" she asked, trying to switch off the fact that she could now see his entire exposed chest.

"Dunno. More of the blue kind," she looked into his eyes and noticed that he wasn't just talking about her nails, but about her personality. More of the blue kind… what was that supposed to mean?

He broke the gaze and said once more "come on" before continuing down the steps and onto the sand.

She followed him but stopped at the last step. She'd never stepped on sand before. She took a tentative step forward and was surprised at how soft and slightly warm it was. It wasn't cold and brittle as she thought. She dug her feet deep onto the golden-white surface and heard laughter from up ahead.

Percy was laughing at her, possibly extraordinarily funny, face but she knew it wasn't a mean laugh, just the kind that you let out when you watch children find things out for the first time. The kind that makes people warm inside.

He put his hand out and she took it, allowing him to guide her closer to the water.

He stepped in without any hesitation, despite the fact that his pants got all wet.

"Come on," he said again.

She stepped forward but immediately jumped back, letting go of his hand. The water was a lot colder than she had expected. He laughed again.

"It won't hurt you, you know," he said smiling, then put his hand on hers again and gave it a soft tug. This time she was ready for the cold but as her ankles were covered in water, she realized she wasn't cold at all. The water swept around her feet and she decided it was actually very pleasant to have that salty atmosphere around.

"So, I guess you like it, huh?" Only when she had to open them to look at the boy asking her that question did she realize her eyes were closed. "What are you thinking?"

"Its…" she couldn't put her thoughts into words, "perfect". As soon as she said it and saw the huge, marvelous white smile on the boy's face, she had no idea what she was talking about anymore, the sea or the guy. Though, when she thought of it, she realized it didn't really matter. They were one and the same thing.

"Agreed," he said, totally oblivious to the fact that she wasn't talking about the sea.

She looked away, not wanting him to notice her thoughts somehow.

"What is it with you?" he asked making her look up again. "I just can't seem to figure you out."

She thought about that, she'd always shut people off, she'd just met Percy, why should she tell him her story? She was doing exactly what she always did.

"I know I've only just met you but most of the time it seems that you're hiding yourself." He continued.

"Yeah," she answered looking onto the horizon. "I learnt to do that a long time ago."

"Do what?"

"Shut people out."

He walked back out of the water, past her, sat down and patted the sand beside him. "Tell me."

He looked much better now that he'd been in the sea; his hangover seemed to be gone, making Annabeth think again that they were one and the same thing.

She walked back and sat beside him. She didn't know where to start so she started from the very beginning. She told him everything. Everything about her parents splitting up when she was really young, about her having a horrible relationship with her dad, about her mom never visiting, her father remarrying and her horrible step-mother. She told him about her half-brothers and the fact that she never felt like she was part of the family.

She even told him about the worst year of her life. Every detail of when she was seven just flooded out of her and she gave him the whole story of her running away to live with her mom in San Francisco. She told him about meeting Malcolm, her new half-brother, and going to a new school, where she bumped into Thalia.

It was so easy to talk to him; the story just came out of her with no difficulty or worry. He was a great listener. Most of her friends knew her background but she hated to tell people those things because she hated to see the pity in people's faces. She could stand anything but pity. It was horrible to see the look in people's eyes when they heard her story but Percy wasn't like that. He just listened. This is everything she ever wanted, for someone to listen, and it was very strange that it was Percy, her best friend's cousin who she'd just met, who was sitting there beside her.

"Aren't you gonna say anything?" she asked after she finished, turning away for him not to see the lonely tear running down her cheek.

"What do you want me to say? Sorry? I don't think that's what you want to hear," he answered.

"Not at all," how did he understand her so much?

He smiled and placed his hand on her chin, turning her face to look at him. "I know how you feel. I know that sounds cliché but its true. I know how it feels not having anyone to talk to. Thalia, Nico and by best friends Grover and Rachel are the only ones I can talk to. I mean, I can talk to my mom, my cousins, my friends, but it's not the same thing and even the others don't really understand things sometimes. I had another friend who did but… well she's not here anymore." He paused for a bit, dropping his hand and looking ahead at the sea. "Thing is I know how it is to have a complicated life. Thalia probably told you my story already, the shit I do, but I'll tell it anyway, from my point of view."

He told her everything. He told her the strange things that happened to him when he was a kid, how everything seemed to happen to him. How he had stalkers, exploded school buses, everything. He told her about being kicked out of all those schools, more than he even knew. He told her about crashing a car and being subject of a national manhunt when he was only twelve. He told her about when he was thirteen and he set fire to his school's gymnasium. When he was fourteen he was in the news again and at the age of fifteen he made his school's band room catch fire giving the school much of a headache. When he was sixteen he somehow got involved with some pretty hard core people and ended up getting into a lot of trouble. He told her about last year, when he was kidnapped for eight months.

Annabeth remembered that. She remembered Thalia talking about it, her best friend had been really worried about him. He told her about it. How he was scared at first but then had begun to think. He told her about being in captivity and then running away. It really seemed that everything happened to him.

"Summing up, I guess I know how it is to have some pretty rotten luck." He looked at her and she felt safe talking to him, even if they'd only just met. He smiled at her again. "Don't ask me why I do it, act like a delinquent I mean, I don't know why. But when you have that kind of luck, I guess, you know, you've just got to toughen up and do what you have to do. I hate making people worried, I hate hurting my mother but it's really not my fault. I try to explain but most people don't get it."

"I guess I found someone who finally understands me," she said.

"Is that a yes then?" he asked her.

"A yes to what?" she answered confused.

"A yes to 'will you be my friend'?"

"Of course that's a yes, Seaweed Brain," she laughed.

"Seaweed Brain?" he laughed, slightly confused.

"Yeah, I mean, you love the ocean and it's pretty obvious to me that you don't have a normal brain," she said shyly.

He laughed. "Yeah," he thought for a minute. "Wise Girl."

"Are you addressing me?" she giggled.

"I think so," he laughed again. "Thalia always told me how smart you are and… well it always seems like you're analyzing me and reading my mind so… yeah, Wise Girl."

"You and Thalia talk about me?" she asked smirking at him.

"Sometimes," he answered with a smile. "I know more about you than you think."

"Oh, I doubt that, Seaweed Brain. I've got many secrets and I'm a difficult person to read."

"And I'm an easy one?"

"Maybe."

"You don't make sense, Wise Girl."

She laughed again at the name. "Wise Girl."

"Yeah… Wise Girl."

"I like it," she said smiling.

"You're not supposed to like it!" he said annoyed. "Nicknames are meant to irritate!"

"You're gonna take some time to manage to irritate me, _Seaweed Brain_," she said, and then laughed at his expression. He smiled at her, though still clearly annoyed.

They stayed like that for some minutes, smiling at each other and just listening to the waves when there was a shout from up far.

"Percy!" someone called.

"Who's that?" asked Annabeth, not recognizing the voice.

He sighed and looked up in the direction of The House. "RED"

**AN.: So that was chapter four! Mainly Percabeth fluff, yeah, I know but seeing as it is an AU their relationship can't start from nowhere! See ya next time!**


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